Jerry Buttimer (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 212: To ask the Minister for Social Protection if there is any payment available to assist persons meeting maintaining and caring for domestic pets; if there is such a payment, if she will outline the weekly amount paid; the number of persons in receipt of it; the amount paid out by her each year to recipients of such a payment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39508/11]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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There are no payments made by the Department of Social Protection towards the cost of caring for a pet.

Billy Timmins (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Question 213: To ask the Minister for Social Protection the position regarding a business getting a 30% rebate should a redundancy situation arise (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39520/11]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The purpose of the Redundancy Payments Scheme is to compensate workers, under the Redundancy Payments Acts, 1967 to 2007, for the loss of their jobs by reason of redundancy. Compensation is based on the worker's length of reckonable service and reckonable weekly remuneration, subject to a ceiling of €600 per week. It is the responsibility of the employer to pay statutory redundancy to all their eligible employees. Rebates to employers and lump sums paid directly to employees are paid from the Social Insurance Fund (SIF). The total amount paid out in redundancy rebates to employers was €152.2 million in 2006; €167.4 million in 2007; €161.8 million in 2008; €247.9 million in 2009; €373.2 million in 2010 and €186.2 million so far in 2011. Given the current economic climate, this level of rebate expenditure is not sustainable and, in Budget 2012, it was announced that the rebate will be reduced to 15%.

To give effect to this change, legislation was introduced and passed all stages in this House last week and is due to be debated in the Seanad this week. While I acknowledge that this change may cause difficulties for employers it should be noted that redundancy rebate payments to employers are not common in many EU and other jurisdictions.